One last chord under the light of Mr. Day

The choral director stood at the podium, hands raised, expecting from his singers what he always expected from them: hard work.

Even if some 50 years have gone by.

Robert L. Day looked out at the group of singers, many of them grandparents, and saw "a really great group of kids."

"I still think of them as my kids," Day said.

And they still admire him as their teacher, the man who taught them so much more than music when he was their choir director at Bolsa Grande High School in Garden Grove, from 1959 to 1965.

So they traveled from across the country this week to Orange County to reunite for the ninth – and last time – as the R.L. Day Chorale. It's a final tribute to the retired teacher many of them said left a lasting footprint in their lives.

"He taught us to be the best you can be, hard work is worth it and believe in yourself," said Pam Opdahl Spalding, a Dana Point resident and retired teacher who worked at El Toro High.

"We had discipline, a feeling of worth and purpose, an identity, and we cared about each other," Spalding added. "That is obvious today. We still love each other. We're a family."

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The singers are now 65 to 70 years old. And Day is 84.

They tracked each other through social media and Internet searches for their first reunion and concert in 2004. Last year's reunion, which was to include a tour in Georgia, like the old days, was canceled because Day had a stroke. On Sunday, after a week of daily rehearsals, lunches and getting reacquainted, they will sing at 2 p.m. at St. Mark's Presbyterian Church in Newport Beach.

At one of their rehearsals this week, the memories were spread out in displays and on a table.

The well-worn scrapbooks – one for each school year – contained mementos from their tours: a sugar packet from Oregon, a stub from the time they performed before Vice President Richard Nixon at Knott's Berry Farm, and an article from a 1962 edition of the Orange County Register, saying that for the first time in its history the State Senate took a 15-minute "music break" to take in a performance by the Bolsa Grande High choir.

There were the mementos from one of their highlight trips: the time they traveled to Seattle for the World's Fair, one of a handful of high school choirs to receive the honor. The covers of the albums they recorded were up next to black-and-white photos: portraits of pretty girls wearing identical dresses and black gloves and the handsome boys in their black tuxes, bow ties and white kerchiefs in their front pockets. The choir was considered the best in the county and one of the top-ranking in the West, according to Garden Grove resident Linda Lehman, whose father was on the school board in the 1960s.

Randy Cloud, a pastor near Palm Springs, remembers, "My knees were shaking" when he tried out for the concert choir. It was done in front of the entire group. And there was an interview too.

Pat Freeman heard the choir while still at Peters Junior High School in Garden Grove, and thought she had to join when she got into high school. But she lived half-a-block outside the school's boundaries. So, twice, she put on her Sunday best and walked over to talk to the principal.

When they wouldn't let her come to the school, her family picked up and moved. "My dreams of a young girl were satisfied," said Freeman, now the administrative director of the Southern California Children's Chorus.

Families joined, like the Klevos brothers and the Opdahl siblings. The choir focused on classical and religious music, and many of the singers went on to become teachers, ministers or active participants in their church choirs. Some, like Jack Wood and Judi Carlson, became professional singers.

"Here's the deal. I auditioned at 17 with Disneyland. The reason: I was fearless. Because, hey, I made Concert Choir. There's nothing I can't do," said Carlson, who traveled from Nashville, Tenn., for the reunion.

Kathy Thiede, who flew in from Colorado, accompanied the choir on piano and Day taught her to sing. But she got so much more.

"I was shy. I was withdrawn. I had no self esteem," Thiede said of her pre-choir self. Belonging to the group made all the difference. And when they reunited for the first time, in 2004, "the connection was there."

"It wasn't the typical reunion where people ask each other, 'What do you do?'" Lehman said.

Linda Crites, of Moreno Valley, describes it this way: "It was a throw-your-arms-around-each other type of reunion."

Then, pointing to her former teacher, she added: "And the common denominator was right here."

Day smiles. He loved teaching and working with young people. He concedes he may have been a tough teacher, but notes "it didn't hurt them any; we focused on doing quality music."

He's touched by the outpouring he receives from his former students. And when they hit that perfect note, with their beautiful voices, he becomes emotional.

Day and his wife of nearly 57 years, Roylene, flew in for the reunion from their home in Texas, where he still serves as choir director for his church. A father of three, he retired after 36 years in education, including stints as choir director at Tustin High School and principal of Lake Intermediate School in Garden Grove.

Day said he switched to administration because cutbacks were expected in the fine arts department.

The group agreed that this week's meeting would be the last time they would formally get together for a reunion concert. Everyone is getting older. There are health problems. And there's the cost of travel and expenses.

"I'm enjoying every day because this is our last one. They agreed we should stop while we're ahead," Day said.

At least 30 former students are participating. More than 60 of the original 98 students have joined one reunion or another, Lehman said.

In addition to the performance open to the public Sunday, the group also will perform today at Town and Country Retirement Village in Santa Ana. For both concerts, the ending will be the same. It's a tradition they call "The Benediction."

They said it will be very hard to perform it for a final time.

Day will turn to his audience to make a closing statement. While he thanks his audience, his right foot will move. The singers will be watching. When his heel is raised, the choir will begin humming in four parts.

"The audience never knew when it would come in," Day said.

When he finishes thanking the audience, he turns to the choir and they sing the words:

"As we go our separate ways, be with us we pray. Guide us through the coming days, should we go astray. May we in Thy grace abide if it be Thy will. Grant us this prayer, O Lord. Amen. Amen."